


The Book Nook

by Retrodropout



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: AU, Bookstores, Drug Addiction, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Modern Dave Katz, bookshop au, dave owns a bakery, first apocalypse averted, more tags later on, no 60s time travel, no vietnam time travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27729265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Retrodropout/pseuds/Retrodropout
Summary: A week after the world was supposed to end, Klaus decides to get sober.A year later he owns a bookstore with dusty spines and family by his side.A year after that he meets one Dave Katz.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & The Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz, The Hargreeves Family, Vanya Hargreeves & The Hargreeves
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	The Book Nook

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be a long one folks so strap in!
> 
> Thank you to my brother for editing this monstrosity.

Another wave of cold engulfs the body of a man filled to the brim with utter contempt.

It had been a week, almost exactly since the world had miraculously dodged its end. A seemingly unavoidable probability avoided by a group of those who had not a clue what they were doing. Since that week, they'd begun to go their separate ways, Allison back to seeing family, her daughter who she was sure she would lose and a career she wasn't sure she still wanted. Luther left to clean the mess left behind along with five, left hopeless at the prospect of a world with no purpose. Diego returned to work, spending nights on the street trying to chase the high of a hero in the shadows and Klaus..

Well, he was sober.

It had been a week since the world was supposed to end, a week since he was reunited with family he hadn't realized he’d missed, a day since he’d stopped trying to kill himself for a moment to consider the possibility of a life. 

And now, stumbling through the streets of downtown New York, a twenty in his pocket and a single, cloth filled duffel bag to his name, he approached the house of the only person he figured would understand what he says when he says, ‘I'm sober, and I want to be this time.’

The apartment complex was old, an off white with ornate features and floor to ceiling windows, obviously in the seedier area of town but not bad enough to be considered an ill investment. Climbing the creaky stairs to the second floor, he let himself take in his surroundings, torn wooden floors and battered wooden doors, light fixtures not quite in working order but a receiving warmth in the otherwise gloomy, rainy night. Before he knew it, he was faced with a door. No doorbell, no knocker, just a simple wooden fixture in the scratched and caved wall.

He shook his head, allowing himself to think for a moment longer before making his grand plan. She’d always been close to Klaus, one of the more understanding in terms of how he felt, how he operated. Always there when Ben wasn't, trading skirts and slacks when they were kids, and sharing whispered secrets late at night when nobody could hear. Even still, they grew up eventually, falling out like family does, leaving behind a bittersweet memory, and a promise of a card during Christmas. Though those cards never came, the memories still stuck and by the time Klaus was knocking at death’s door and begging on hands and knees for help, there was only really one place he could think to go.

Before he could lift a hand, the door swung open and there stood Vanya, a little shocked. Obviously she hadn't noticed he was there either, if her face and posture was anything to go by “Klaus,”

He smiled, big and extravagant though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes “Hey Vanny!”

They stood there for another moment in awkward silence, not quite sure who should make the next move. Vanya shifted her weight from one foot to the other before eventually opening the door further. She gestured widely, giving a small smile of her own to the man at her door. He hopped in place, bounding his way into the warm apartment filled with thrift store furniture and the smells of vanilla scented candles.

It had been awhile since he'd been here, years since he had stepped foot in this place, though under less than favorable conditions. He was sure she hadn't forgotten the last time the two of them had sat on those same couches sharing teary-eyed conversations and acting like a couple of blubbering messes. Even then, with those promises to stay in touch, he knew he wouldn't. Even when Ben continued to pester and beg that he go back, that he talk to anyone, he knew he couldn't. But today was different.

“Say something.” Ben's voice spoke from behind him to which Klaus shot a glare as he made his way, sprawling himself on the sofa.

“Would you like some tea?” Vanya offered, closing the door and making her way to the kitchen without waiting for an answer. Klaus hummed in approval.

Looking around the room it was easy to tell she didn’t get many visitors. The house was nearly spotless, cushions positioned perfectly, paintings dust free, not even a cup ring on the wooden surfaces. The small apartment felt warm, love filling every crevice and though his sister’s personality was showcased in every corner, something was different. Vanya had changed a lot in those last few weeks, weaning herself off her medicine and training herself with the help of family with her newly discovered abilities. She seemed happier, stronger, finally growing into herself and Klaus wasn't the only one to notice it. Hell, maybe they were all changing.

She was back before he knew it, placing a mug of a honey scented tea in front of him and sitting herself down.

“How are you?” she asked first, taking a tentative sip.

“Oh you know,” Klaus lifted up his own mug, waving a hand through the air, “just riding the wave of saving the world.”

She looked over next to him, spotting the bag, “Do you need a place to stay?” damn her observance.

Klaus kicked the bag off to the side, raising a shaky mug held by even shakier hands to his lips once again. He wasn't making eye contact, instead looking off at the little ornament on her fridge. A small jewelry box, filled instead with keys. Vanya didn't wear jewelry.

“I—” he hesitated, never quite good with vulnerability. He was so much better at this as a kid, before shitty parenting kicked his ass and the world kept knocking him down over and over until he became the emotionally detached adult known today. Looking to the other side Ben gives him an encouraging nod from across the room, “I'm sober.”

She tried not to show it but her eyes widened slightly as an encouraging and pleasant smile graced her features. She set down the mug and folded fidgeting hands in her lap, “Thats amazing Klaus.”

“‘S not long, only a day,”

“Still,” she caught his eye, “I'm proud of you.”

He scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit. He didn’t much feel like making a crack at something right now, even though every single fiber of his being begged him to stop this praise, to leave the apartment and go out to find his next fix. He could continue next week, he could start again tomorrow, but before he could do anything, Vanya was speaking again.

“Do you—” she hesitated, thinking about how to word herself, “is that why you're here?”

He smiled sheepishly, “Yeah.”

Vanya picked the mug back up, and Klaus did the same. Neither of them spoke for a minute, thinking where to go next, what arrangements to make, how much to divulge of his part and how to help on hers.

“I should go back to the house—”

“You can have the bed tonight.”

He was staring now, he knew he was, but that wasn't quite what he was expecting. Usually when something like this happens, he’s not taken as seriously or downright ignored. Kicked to the street left to fend for himself until he inevitably runs back and tries again, but this time he was sticking his hand out and someone is actually taking it.

“You don't have to do that Vanny,”

“I know.”

She smiled again, this time warmer and caring, a look that told him, ‘you aren't alone this time’ and ‘trust me’. It made him laugh, a quick, deep, sad laugh that filled his chest with a burning pain that radiated up into his throat, practically choking him with the burn it produced. It reached his eyes, causing him to swipe furiously until the bubbling stopped.

“I'm going to be a handful, you know that, don't you?”

She nodded, not quite to his question but to herself, placing her mug back down and grabbing out the phone book from beneath the coffee table.

“I'm not going back to rehab.”

She nodded again, still scanning the yellowing paper until she seemed to find what she was looking for. She grabbed a notepad and pen and quickly jotted down an address, 

“We can go here in the morning,” she handed him the slip of paper which he quickly scanned over. It was an address that he knew very well, one that he'd been to before but never successfully, something that made his stomach turn at the prospect of actually doing what he was determined to do this time.

“A drug clinic?” He asked

She shrugged, clearly showing a confidence she hadn't had even weeks before, a drive that also seemed new. It was almost as if they had switched personalities for the time being, Klaus the quiet timid one and Vanya taking initiative and confidence, “it's not rehab but its better then you can do on your own, help get you back on your feet.”

He looked at her for a moment more before staring back at the paper. He was shaking now, even more than before and he honestly felt like shit. The cold sweat and the nausea kept rising with every moment he was sitting up. He needed a warm bath, he needed a thousand year nap, he needed to process everything before it exploded in his face like it always did. He needed to break the ice.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked instead, voice catching at the end.

“Because you're my brother, and you deserve to get better.”

These are the words that broke the dam, the words that sent him over the edge that he was just barley teetering on. Quickly, yet hesitantly Vanya stood up and quietly made her way over to his couch. She placed a soothing hand on his back and pulled him slowly into a half hug, both siblings still not sure where they stood on close contact. They sat like that for what felt like hours, in close quarters yet barely touching, sobs wracking his frail frame and a gentle, tiny hand running up and down his back. Ben stood off to the side observing in quiet company, keeping any sassy remarks for a time when Klaus isn't so fragile.

Eventually he did stop, and Vanya took the partially empty mugs to the kitchen, the sound of running water accompanying sniffles from the couch. Klaus stood up too, stretching with a satisfying pop before making his way down the hall.

“Mind if I use your bathroom?” he asked, “I'm in desperate need of a bubble bath.”

She nodded, giving instructions on where to find everything as he left her with a quick thank you. Closing the door left him alone yet again, only the sounds of a leaky faucet and a few lingering ghosts outside resonated within his mind. The apartment itself was empty of spirits, yet another reason he liked the place, but even still he knew he couldn't stay in the apartment forever, and now that he was attempting to rework his life, that's something that he'd need help on too.

He peeled the sticky sweat ridden clothes off his body and started the water, overly warm to anyone else but just what he needed to clear his running thoughts. The room filled with steam and the bath filled with bubbles as he slowly set about lifting himself gently into the bath and allowing the warm, soapy water to fill him to the brim, humming a gentle tune to himself, in an attempt to drown out the screams outside and the racing of his heart.

From the kitchen Vanya could still be heard, cleaning up and setting up sheets and blankets on the raggedy old couch for herself, keeping the promise of letting him use the bed. Throughout town, ghosts wandered about, covered in gore that only one man could see. For now though, he'd sit in his bath and try desperately to drown out what he’d done for years, and fall hard into the new world he was about to be thrown into.


End file.
